Japanese Shares Fall on Market Caution

2026-10-02 07:14 By Jam Kaimo Samonte 1 min. read

The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.99% to close at 68,309 on Friday, ending a two-day winning streak as investors took profits and turned more cautious over the outlook for rates and geopolitical risks.

Markets continued to reel from a global bond selloff, though concerns over France’s fiscal and political outlook supported some safe-haven demand for Japanese bonds.

Meanwhile, the US considered deploying an additional aircraft carrier and 10,000 troops to the Middle East.

Domestically, data showed Tokyo’s core inflation accelerated to 2.7% in September, moving above the BOJ’s 2% target for the first time in nine months.

In corporate news, SoftBank Group said it completed the third and final $10 billion tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI, bringing its total investment in the AI company to $64.6 billion.

Shares of the Japanese investment giant fell nearly 6%.

Despite Friday’s decline, the Nikkei gained 2.93% for the week, marking its third consecutive weekly advance.



News Stream
Japanese Shares Fall on Market Caution
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.99% to close at 68,309 on Friday, ending a two-day winning streak as investors took profits and turned more cautious over the outlook for rates and geopolitical risks. Markets continued to reel from a global bond selloff, though concerns over France’s fiscal and political outlook supported some safe-haven demand for Japanese bonds. Meanwhile, the US considered deploying an additional aircraft carrier and 10,000 troops to the Middle East. Domestically, data showed Tokyo’s core inflation accelerated to 2.7% in September, moving above the BOJ’s 2% target for the first time in nine months. In corporate news, SoftBank Group said it completed the third and final $10 billion tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI, bringing its total investment in the AI company to $64.6 billion. Shares of the Japanese investment giant fell nearly 6%. Despite Friday’s decline, the Nikkei gained 2.93% for the week, marking its third consecutive weekly advance.
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The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 745 points or 1.08 percent on Friday to close at 68211 points. Losses were led by Softbank (-6.22%), Nissan (-4.57%) and Terumo (-4.15%).
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Japanese Shares Fall as Oil Prices Gain
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.6% to around 68,500 on Friday, ending a two-day winning streak as oil prices climbed amid concerns that a potential escalation in the US-Iran conflict could further disrupt Middle East energy supplies and reignite inflation pressures. Investors also assessed data showing Tokyo’s core inflation accelerated to 2.7% in September, rising above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the first time in nine months, partly due to higher oil prices. In corporate news, SoftBank Group said it completed the third and final $10 billion tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI, bringing its total investment in the AI company to $64.6 billion for an ownership stake of about 13%. Notable declines came from major firms including Kioxia (-2.3%), SoftBank (-3.8%), Taiyo Yuden (-3.3%), Fast Retailing (-1.5%) and Toyota (-1.8%). For the week, the Nikkei remains on track to advance more than 3%, marking its third consecutive weekly gain.
2026-10-02